Window-shutter and operating device



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

ma I@ y me, ,.J n! z. w... ,7/ www 47 /f/ .n H a S W H 2 vSheet-,s--Sheet 2.

W. H. LOT-Z. Window Shltters and Operating Devices. N0. 224,021.

Patented Feb. 3, 1880.

N. PETERS. PHDTOLITHUGRLPHER, WASHINGYCN, D c.

Nrrenn STATES Arent trice WILLIAM H. LCTZ, CF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WINDOW-SHUTTER AND OPERATING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 224,021, dated February 3, 1880.

Application led July 1, 1879.

To all whom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. Lorz, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Window-Shutters and method of operating them, of which the following-is a full, clear, and exact description. lhe object I have in view is to providelarge buildings, such as warehouses, stores, freightdepots, 85e., with window-shutters which can be `opened and-closed easily and conveniently all together, or a number at one operation, and from the inside of the building, without the necessity of moving the shutters of each window separately', or of opening any of the windows of the building for that purpose, and which shutters can be readily operated in stormy and windy weather, and when closed will make the window-openings storm andiire proof, and may be provided with inside locks l to make them burglar-proof.

These shutters I prefer to make of sheetiron, and have soshown them in the drawings 5 but the novelty lies in the form or construction of the shutters and their manner of operation, as well as in the method of operating all the shutters of a building, whereby the above objects are accomplished.

My invention consists, first, in the combination of a series of counterbalanced windowshutters connected with the same operating mechanism and adapted to be opened and closed simultaneously; second,in the combination of a number of window-shutters, made each in two sections, sliding vertically toward 'and away from each other to close and dis- 'close the window-openings,`and connected together so as to counterbalance, with a shaft or shafts connecting a series of such shutters or all the shutters on one or more sides of the building with the same operating mechanism; third, in the Vcombination ot' a series of vertically-slidin g window-shutters with a horizontal shaft for operating such shutters simultaneously; fourth, in the combination of a series of wheels or pulleys situated above the windows of a building and connected by a horizontal shaft, a series of window-shutters. made each in two sections, sliding vertically toward and away from each other to close and disclose the window-opening, and chains or ropes connecting the sections of the shutters and passing over such pulleys and, fth, in the combination of a series of vertically-sliding `window-shutters, a horizontal shaft above the same, outside of the building, connecting and operating simultaneously such shutters,

and a shaft extending through the wall of the building, and having a gear-wheel meshing with a gear-wheel on the outside shaft to impart a certain motion from the inside of such building to the outside shaft and the shutters operated thereby, all as fully hereinafter eX- plained.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I proceed to describe the same in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a building-front with my shutters attached; Fig. 2, a vertical section through one window of a building having the shutters, the figure also showing the mechanism for opening and closing the shutters from the inside of the building; Figs 3 and et, end and fro'nt elevations of the chain-pulley or sprocket-wheel; Fig. 5, a sectional view, showing a manner of arranging the shutters where the spaces bctween the windows of the different stories of the building are not equal to the entire length of a shutter; Figs. 6 and 7, an elevation and a sectional view of a modified form of the shutter; and Figs. 8 and 9, an end view and a front elevation of the stepped pulley for preserving an exact counterbalance of the two sections of the shutters shown inFi gs. 6 and 7 Like letters denote corresponding parts.

A represents the front wall of a building, and B the window-openings. To the Wall, on the sides of each window-opening, are secured metallic ways or guides c, in which slide the vertically-moving shutters. These shutters are made in two sections, C C', preferably of sheet-iron, of equal size and weight. rllhe two meeting ends of the sections Aare constructed to overlap each other, as shown, so as to form IOO a tight joint; The two sections of each shutter are connected together, preferably by a chain, D; but a cord or rope of wire or other -suitable material may be used instead. This wheel be turned the sections C C will bel brought together orseparated, according to the direction of the revolution. The sections being of equal weight, they will counterbalance each other, and the only loss of power in the operation of the shutters will be in the friction on the journals of the sprocket-wheel `and the mechanism for operating it.

The sprocket-wheels E, above each line of windows, are connected to turn together. by a shaft, F, which is constructed, preferably, of square iron bars, extending from one sprocketwheel to another. These sprocket-wheels are extended beyond their bearin gs in the brackets, and are provided with segmental heads b, having angular grooves on their at faces. The ends of the square bars are laid in these grooves and held by clamp-blocks c, similarly grooved, which clamp-blocks are secured by stirrups d and nuts d to the heads b. By these means a cheap and strong connection is produced. I

The shaft F, at one end,or at any point in the center, is provided with a bevel-gear, e, matching with another bevel-geanf, on a short shaft, G, which passes through the wall of the building at right angles to the shaft F.

Within the building the shaft G is connected,`by any suitable means, with a handcrank, H, situated within convenient reach of a person standing on the tloor. By turning this crank H the shaft F will be rotated and all the shutters connected therewith operated si m ultan eousl y.

The shutters of each story, and on each side of the building, will be operated by sprocketwheels turned by a single shaft, and the shutters of each floor or story may be operated independently of those of the other floors or sides of the building; but I prefer to connect the shaft of one line of shutters with the shafts above and below by vertical shafts, chains, or belts, either within or outside of the building, so that the shutters of all or any desired number of the ioors can be operated from one point. At the corners of the building the shafting on one front may be connected with that on the other front of the building by bevelgears or otherwise. Each line of shafting may be covered and protected by a cornice.

I have also designed to operate the shutters of one or more orall sides of a building with but a single line of shafting running around above the upper story of windows beneath the eaves. This I can do by running the chains, cords, or ropes of the upper shutters down to all the shutters directly below, connecting the upper sections of all the shutters in a vertical line together, and also connecting' the lower sections together, the weight of the shutters being taken by the same sprocket-wheel; or, instead of this arrangement, every shutter can be supported by its o wn sprocket-wheel and chain, and the cha-ins of the lower shutters be connected with the chains or sections of the upper shutters so as to operate therewith. The sprocket-wheels of only the upperline of shutters would be connected by a shaft. By either of these last two arrangements it will be seen that the counterbalance of the sections of the shutters will be maintained.

Instead of operating the shutters by wheels and chains or ropes, I can connect the same with levers, so that they will be counterbalanced and operate the shutters through the movement of such levers; but I prefer the devices described and shown.

In buildingswhere the space between the windows of two stories or floors is less than half the height of one of the windows some change is necessary to prevent the lower sections of the upper shutters and the upper sections of the lower shutters from interfering. One construction for this purpose is shown in Fig. 5, and another construction by the second sheet of the drawings.

In Fig. 5 the Ways a are inclined so that the upper and lower sections of the different shutters can overlap and move past each other.

In Figs. 6 and 7 the sections C G of the shutters are shown as made each in two parts, the parts of the upper section being lettered g g', while those of the lower section are designated by letters h h.

All the parts have flanges at their ends, as shown, to keep the parts of each section toi gether and to limit their movement.

The parts g and 71,4 are connected together by a cord or rope, D, to preserve the counterbalance of the sections. It will be seen, however, (supposing the shutters to be closed,) that during the iirst half-movement of the sections the end of the rope attached to the upper section will only carry one-half of the weight that will be supported by the end j, and these conditions are reversed during the remaining half-movement.

To preserve the counterbalance, which is quite essential, especially where a large number of shutters are operated from the same point, I use a stepped pulley or drum, I, which approachesnearly the shape of a double conical drum, but is adapted for sudden changes to suit the conditions of operation of the shutters. This stepped drum I prefer to make with five steps-a central step, k, two steps, Z, at its ends, of half the diameter of the step 7c, and two intermediate steps, m, of a size intermediate between the steps k l.

The wheel has a spiral groove, n, running its entire length, and the rope D lies -in this groove.

The rope D may be wrapped a number ofv times around the drum and play off at one end IOO IOS

IIO

IIS

224,021 I l s as it takes up at the other;` or it can be made in two pieces, one secured to one end of the drum and the other to the center of the drum.

When the shutters are closed the lower section will be connected with the end j leading over the small step l, while the upper section, ca'rrying only half the Weight, Will be connected with the end t' leading over the large center step, k. Now, the drum being turned, the uppersection will be raised one-half, While the lower section drops one-fourth its moving distance; then, the Weights being equal, the end i rises onto step m on one side of the central step, While the` end j drops to the other step m, where the ends remain till both sections are moved with equal speed a further one-fourth distance. The conditions then being exactly thereverse of what they were at the beginning, the rope t' drops to the small step l, While the rope j rises to the large step lc, the sections making, respectively, the remaining one-quarter and one-half distances in the same time. By these means the counterbalance of the sections will be always maintained, and the sections, when the shutters are open, will be only one-half their extended dimensions.

The counterbalancing of these divided'sectional shutters can be accomplished by a twostep pulley or drum Working on the saine principle, and imperfectly by a double conical drum.

The drums I are connected and operated in the same manner as already described'in regard to the sprocket-wheels E.

Where a large number of shutters are operated from the same point itmay be necessary to provide worm or other gear to increase the power of the hand-crank 5 or, in very large buildings with power convenient, a connection with the power would be desirable to operate simultaneously all the shutters.`

It will be observed that in addition to the advantages before named this method of covering and uncovering windows of large buildings furnishes great security, from the fact that i the shutters on` every part `of the building will all be closed or opened with certainty.

The shutters at their meeting-edges may be provided with catches .or bolting devices for locking them automatically when they are closed, and thereby makin g them burglar-proof. Ihe shutters, instead of being arranged on the outside of the building, as shown, can be placed against the inside of thewindow-frames, if found desirable, or may be arranged to slide into pockets made in the wall above and below the windows, so lthat the shutters will be Withdrawn out of sight when they are opened.l

I am aware that a patent has been granted showinga series of horizontally-sliding shutters pperated by a horizontal screw-shaft turning 1n threaded boxes `secured to the upper parts of the shutters, and that the screw-shafts of the different stories and fronts of the build-V ing are shown and described as connected by belts with the same crank-wheel; and I am Y Patent, is-

1. In combination, a series of counterbalanced window shutters connected with the same operating mechanism and adapted to be opened and closed simultaneously, substantially as described.

2. A number of window-shutters, made each in two sections, sliding vertically toward and' away from each other to close and disclose the window-opening, and connected together so as to counterbalance, in combination with a shaft or shafts connecting a series of shutters or all the shutters on one or more lsides of the vbuilding with the same operating mechanism, substantially as described.

8. In combination, a series of vertically-sliding window-shutters and a horizontal `shaft for operating such shutters simultaneously, substantially as described.

4. ln combination, a series of Wheels or pnl-V leys situated above the windows of a building and connected by a horizontal shaft, a series of window-shutters, made each in two sections, sliding vertically toward and away from each other to close and disclose the window-opening, and chains or ropes connecting the sections of the shutters and passingI over such operating wheels or pulleys, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination, a series of vertically-sliding window-shutters, a horizontal shaft above the same, outside of the building, connecting and operating simultaneously'sueh shutters, and a shaft extending through the Wall of the building, and having a gear-wheel meshing with a gear-wheel on the outside shaft to impart a certain motion from the inside of such building to the outside shaft, substantially as described and shown.

Witnesses:

EMIL H. FROMMANN, HEINR. LDERS.

IOO

IIO 

